We have a tricky product today. It pretends to be one, but it is actually ten. Is it like some sort of a mighty god with 10 avatars? Or a weird non-conventional 10-coloured rainbow? Close, it's the 10m lengths of LED strings that come in different colour variations, including an RGB one, which makes things […]
Iron Man & Solarbotics at Comic Exp...
Solar botics
June 30, 2016
We often work with people with very interesting projects. This time, it's an impressive Iron Man MkIII costume build, by Phillip Vatour of Calgary.
Phillip had come into our offices one day and said: "You might be interested in seeing what I've been building with the stuff I buy here...". He pulled out his phone and handed over his photo gallery. Flip..."Nice Iron Man gauntlet" ....flip..."Nice Arc reactor" ...flip... "HOLY CRAP - that's a video of a functional visor-flipping helmet!"
We were so impressed by his build, we invited Phillip and his family to the 2016 Calgary Comic Expo as a keynote display at the Solarbotics booth. He'd spend several hours each day, suiting up and posing for photos, while explaining his build. He's one of a handful of builders in the world with such a fully-featured Iron Man costume, so we were very happy to work with him at the show. We were very happy to arrange a photo-op with Stan Lee (creator of the "Iron Man" character), as this was to be Mr. Lee's last Comic Expo appearance. Mr. Lee was apparently quite impressed by the quality of the suit, as were his staff attending the photo op.
What's particularly notable about Phillip's efforts is that he doesn't rent out his time or make paid appearances. He volunteers for the Make-a-Wish foundation and the Calgary Children's Hospital, making appearances as Iron Man for the kids. We were happy to help out by promoting a donation bucket to help Phillip pay for ongoing costume upgrades and maintenance (apparently Iron Man costume molds aren't cheap!).
Phillip designed the costume to have quite an array of features, which are fairly independent of each other. A tech-costume of this complexity can often have some failures, so this design allows the majority of the suit to stay functional if a single element is damaged. Of course, this means there's a multitude of batteries to maintain, and Phillip has a full check-list to cover during suit-up and servicing.
We produced an informational flyer we gave out at the show, available here as a pdf (Ironman Phillip Vautour information sheet).
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Closed for Holidays
Just another quick note that Solarbotics will be closed for Victoria Day, Monday May 23. Any orders received after 2pm today will not go out until we open back up on Tuesday the 24th.
Boxing Week Sales!!
Never mind that 10 block line-up at your local home electronics store. Solarbotics is where it's at this holiday season for great quality, inexpensive robots and parts. Feast your eyes on the packages of motors, wheels, kits and supplies which are all over 20% off the regular two-for pricing!! Do you want motors and LOTS […]
Tuesday New Product: Batteries, Pi Wedge...
Lithium Ion (LiPoly) Battery - 110mAh 3.7V $8.34 Lithium polymer battery, but darn small! 3.7V 110mAh LiPoly battery for E-Textiles $8.34 What makes this battery special for E-textiles? Built-in current limiting for safety. SparkFun Pi Wedge B+ $9.55 A prototyping Wedge for Raspberry Pi B+ that allows you to use a shield and a protoboard […]
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Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.